Research On Xunzi’s Thoughts On National Governance

How to govern the country and achieve great unification was the focus of debate among hundreds of scholars in the pre-Qin period.Xunzi was at the end of the Warring States period when the transition to an autocratic monarchy was accelerating.He conformed to the current situation and learned from others’ strengths,designed a relatively complete national governance system,and outlined a blueprint for a royal political ideal with a Confucian core.Xunzi’s view of heaven and man and human nature is the theoretical basis for the construction of his national governance system."Separation of nature and humanity" not only emphasizes the difference between heaven and man,which is the root of the social hierarchy,but also emphasizes "control the destiny and use it".Through the use of man’s subjective initiative,evil can be eliminated and the good can be promoted,and the "changing human nature then rising the moral acquired" can be achieved.According to this,he put forward the core of "liyi" governance.Xunzi believes that everyone is the same innately,but the degree of realization of the rising the moral acquired is different,so gentlemen and villains with different levels of accomplishment will be differentiated,resulting in social stratification.Therefore,the existence of a social hierarchical system is naturally and reasonably,state governance can only be carried out smoothly when everyone readily accepts this natural unequal social order.Xunzi’s national governance system can be divided into two aspects :governance principles and governance paths.In principle of governance,Xunzi stands on the position of monarchism,advocates the absolute monarchy,emphasizes that the main body of state governance is the monarch in the supreme position and his subordinates.the monarch is the supreme power holder of the country,and also the main person in charge of whether the national politics is clear,and the courtier is the specific executor of the monarch’s will and an important bridge between the monarch and the people.When monarchs govern the country,they should use " clear division to make the group" to reconstruct the social order,Standardize the form of social organization with "clear distinctions",and explore the way of "making the group".Xunzi introduces the “Ba theory” that is originally opposed to the “Wang theory” of Confucianism,seeking a balance between them,and regards the “using both Wang and Ba” as a national governance strategy.In the specific governance path,Xunzi,under the strategy of " using both Wang and Ba ",maximizes the effectiveness of state governance through economic means of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce,military means of ceremonial governance of the army,and political means of ceremonial and law-abiding.Xunzi’s national governance thought was not taken seriously at the time,but was partially absorbed by the rulers in later generations to strengthen the centralized monarchy.Under the current situation of contemporary society,we must seek solutions from excellent traditional culture,and we should be based on a rational analysis of Xunzi’s national governance thought,clarifying the limitations of the times and realizing that many of its content concepts are not only applicable to feudal society.Its thoughts of emphasizing the people and loving the people,emphasizing moral cultivation,promoting etiquette and righteousness,giving full play to the subjective initiative of people,combining the rule of morality and the rule of law,and making the country prosperous and powerful are also of great reference value for advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capabilities in the new era.